Kirkland Hosts Scrabble Meet

Although most of Harvard spends reading periods either sleeping or studying, a few students are taking time out to play--Scrabble, that is.

The first-ever "Harvard Scrabble Tournament extravaganza" began Saturday afternoon in the Kirkland House Grille.

Although the three tournament organizers live in Kirkland, the 24 participants included residents of several other Houses and one first-year, as well as Kirkland House tutors.

Priscilla J. Munoz '98, one of the organizers, said she and co-coordinators Paul M. Golaszewski '00 and Mariah Robinson '00 decided to put together a Scrabble tournament "to celebrate the greatest game known to man."

"One of our New Year's resolutions was to expand vocabularies", she said. "This was a good way to do it."

"I've been really into Scrabble because my mother is a real fanatic", Robinson added. "I was practicing over Christmas break."

Golaszewski, Munoz and Robinson put up signs in the Kirkland dining hall inviting Scrabble-lovers to get involved in the tournament.

The first round began at 1 p.m. Saturday. Each participant had the option of playing in one or two games, and the 12 players with the highest average scores moved on to the second round yesterday.

Consistent scoring was ensured by using one dictionary--The Official Scrabble Players' Dictionary, Third Edition--for every game.

Of the dozen competitors who met yesterday in the second round, four advanced to the final round, which will be held in the next few days.

The four will play one game against each of the others, in a round robin format, to determine the winner.

Golaszewski and Robinson both advanced to the second round. But "Scrabble is a game of luck," Robinson said. "It really depends on what letters you get. Everyone involved has been such a good player in terms of work knowledge and strategy."

With games averaging two hours, players said they were a little worried that the tournament took a good chunk of time out of a day that perhaps could be better spent studying for finals.

But Munoz said the trade-off was worth it.

"It's so much fun, and there have been some phenomenal scores. Everyone is very experienced. There's been lots of laughter," she said.

"It's been a lot to plan and organize and officiate, more difficult than you would think, but it's definitely been worth it," Golaszewski adds. "It's been a fun, constructive way to take a study break."

Robinson says she plans to hold another tournament next reading period.

Best of all, Robinson said, the tournament has been a way for students to forget the frustrations of finals and celebrate a common passion.

"It's brought together people who you wouldn't normally think would play," she said. "Scrabble itself is a way for people to increase word power, but this tournament has been a uniting factor."